Can I break your window?

In Paris, my Infi Torem chocolate was on display at a conference.

A friend was there, getting content for me. He sent some photos. Looked great.

"Can you take a couple more close-up videos?" I asked.

Five minutes later, he messaged me.

"The chocolates are gone."

Gone.

They had been displayed alongside other products. But on the bottom shelf? A pile of ApeChain beanies—free to take.

And the moment people saw those beanies sitting there, something clicked. Oh, this is free stuff.

They didn’t ask. They didn’t check. They just started grabbing.
And they started with my chocolate.

This is The Broken Window Theory in action.

In the 1980s, New York was drowning in crime. Then came a radical idea: what if small things create big problems?

One broken window doesn’t just mean a broken window.

It signals something bigger: Nobody’s watching. Nobody cares. The rules don’t apply here.

And once that message is out? Everything unravels.
One broken window turns into graffiti. Turns into trash piling up. Turns into people feeling like anything goes.

And this isn’t just crime. This is business.

A messy website makes people assume messy service.
A brand that ignores details tells customers: “This isn’t premium.”
A store with bad lighting makes products look cheap—without changing the price.

Small signals set expectations. And expectations create reality.

People don’t just follow the rules. They follow the cues.

So here’s the real question: What silent signals are you sending?
What “broken windows” in your business are shaping how people see you?

Because if you don’t control the message… someone else will.

Tino